Dearie departed hits back at Treasury Wine

David Dearie: “There are so many failed wine companies who have looked short-term.”
AFR

by
Eli Greenblat

Ousted Treasury Wine Estates boss David Dearie has dismissed allegations by his former chairman that he lacked enough operational skills to lead the winemaker.

The move openly contradicts Paul Rayner’s key message to the market last month for the former chief executive’s ejection from the company.

Mr Dearie has also mounted a thinly veiled criticism of
Treasury Wine
’s board, whose brands include Penfolds, Wynns and Saltram. The world was full of failed wine companies that adopted short-term strategies around management and production, he said.

“You have got to take – and this is always a challenge with the wine category – a long-term view, it’s a long-term approach, markets tend to look at things very short-term, so you’ve got that dichotomy of who is right," he said.

The critique comes at a particularly tough time for Treasury Wine, which this week was threatened with a class-action lawsuit by aggrieved shareholders over its multimillion-dollar write-down linked to its US business.

Mr Dearie said he could not understand Mr Rayner’s comments in a press release announcing his departure on September 23 that Treasury Wine directors believed it needed “a leader with stronger operational focus’’.

“I don’t know what was meant by ‘operational’ experience,’’ Mr Dearie said. “I had been chief operating officer in the past. So you need to ask the chairman what he meant by those comments.’’

A spokesman for Treasury Wine said the company had fully explained the reasons for the decision to replace Mr Dearie.

■ Eli Greenblat is a business reporter covering the retail and beverage sectors.